Oil exporting states urged to use alternative currencies instead of dollar

Tehran, June 17 (IRNA) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged world oil exporting countries on Tuesday to find ways to switch their oil revenues from dollar to alternative currencies.
He made the remarks in his speech at the 29th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of OPEC Fund for International Development which is underway in the ancient city of Isfahan, central Iran.
This was one of suggestions made by President Ahmadinejad to overcome the existing challenges facing the developing countries.
High-ranking officials from 12 OPEC member countries are participating in the event held at Abbasi hotel.
The conference aims to remove problems facing the energy sector and survey economic issues of the OPEC members.
The 123th meeting of the OPEC Fund board of directors will be held after the OFID meeting in this city.
"Today, the experts in international economy and the analysts of the oil market all agree that the economic crisis in the US together with the fall in the value of dollar have especially affected the
development of the poor and developing countries," said the president.
He added that the current situation had adverse effect on the oil exporting countries economy.
"The lower dollar has given rise to severe fluctuations in capital markets and fueled an inordinate level of speculative activity. Huge sums of money have been diverted into oil exchange resulting in a bubble in the oil market. Here, in addition to the poor and developing countries, economy of the oil-exporting nations has been adversely affected by these circumstances."